Something wrong with my skink?

[littlemoth]

I'm a new skink owner, I've only had my IJ baby for a couple weeks. He was doing fine up until today. When I came home from running errands he was out and when I approached the his enclosure he didn't move at all, which is unusual because he's still very wary of people. When I noticed I stuck my hand in and pet him a little and he still didn't move. Since I've been home he'll pick up his head a little and stick his tongue out a bit. He's got a bit of saliva around his mouth as well. I'm not sure what's wrong. He has access to fresh water and the food in his dish is a day old now. It's 10pm where I am currently so a vet check is not an option right now. I'll try to include some pictures, I just wanted to get this posted as quick as possible.

Thanks in advance for any help. I'm a natural worry wart and he's my first skink Let me know if there's any more info I can provide.

[Janella]

Hey, how is your little skink doing? How old is your skink? What is your temps? Humidity? Diet? Did you end up going to the vet? Sorry I didn't catch your post till now.

[splashy07]

How about a picture of your skink and setup? Maybe we can figure out what is going wrong here.

[littlemoth]

Thanks for the replies, he is doing better since we've come home. Alert and feisty as usual. We ended up going to a 24 hour vet, with an exotics vet, Saturday night where he stayed over night. He was dehydrated so they gave him some fluids and recommended I make some changes to his enclosure and diet. He is also currently on anti biotics. I am a new owner and am constant learning but can admit this was 100% my fault. I struggle to keep the humidity up in his enclosure.
My skink is only 3 months old. He is temporarily in a 20 gallon breeder. I changed his bedding from Aspen to reptibark. Usually 88-92 F on his basking side, 72-75 on his cool side. (10.00 UVB bulb and 90 watt heat bulb) Since I've made changes, I can maintain about a 52-56% humidity (before it was low 30s). His current diet is a mix of dandelion greens, watercress, carrots, green beans, ground turkey, and gut loaded crickets. I calcium dust everything. His water is changed every two or three days.

Although now I am I am a bit concerned because he can't figure out how to burrow in the bark and has not eaten since he's been home. I'm thinking it's probably from being overwhelmed from everything and going from being handled every few days to everyday for medicine and a soak. I'm just a worried momma since I've already made such a huge mistake.

Any suggestions and advice is welcome. Thank you.
I will try to post some pictures later when I am home from work.

[splashy07]

I would suggest adding a high quality dog food to his diet. Not much nutrition in what he is currently getting. A bit more protein couldn't hurt, I've raised countless babies on Blue Buffalo and Halo's.

[kingofnobbys]

Even better : add medium to large silkworms to his daily diet , highly nutritious great food for fast growing baby and juvenile skink.

Change water EVERY DAY , the little devils have a habit of bathing in their water and peeing/pooing in it, so DEFINITELY FRESH WATER DAILY.

[Janella]

I completely agree with all the other suggestions given. You never did say, what type of skink is your little baby? I am very glad you were able to take your baby to the vet. Koodos to you for doing that. What antibiotic did they put it on? I also have a few other suggestions. My guys really really love jungle mix as a substrate and then the reptibark on top. I so far have never had any issues with shedding and they love burrowing in it. Plus you can pour water over it about once a week to help maintain humidity. You can also add a humid hide as well to help with humidity. The last thing is that I would recommend following our forum's diet chart. Remember these guys need lots of protein in their diets. So some suggestions are the high protein dog food, ground lean turkey, snails, silkworms, hornworms, dubia roaches, and eggs. I always mix my protein with their veggies and a little fruit in a food processor so that they eat everything and can't pick out just what they like. Remember we all are here to help and I wish your little baby the best of luck in recovery. Keep us posted how things go please

[littlemoth]

Splashy, how long will a can of dog food typically last after opening it?

Kingofnobbys, I think I remember seeing silkworms at a local store. I will make sure to check soon. Thanks for the suggestion.

Janella, sorry I thought I mentioned he is an Irian Jaya. I'll probably give the jungle mix a shot. I feel so bad he can't burrow. He is taking liquid Enrofloxacin as an antibiotic I give him orally.

I really appreciate all the suggestion and I will be putting them to use the best I can. When I got home tonight he had eaten a bit and pooped and seemed happy to see me so I am feeling a little better seeing he is settling in a bit.

Another question, has anyone fed reptiworms? Opinions?

[kingofnobbys]

Splashy, how long will a can of dog food typically last after opening it?

Kingofnobbys, I think I remember seeing silkworms at a local store. I will make sure to check soon. Thanks for the suggestion.

Janella, sorry I thought I mentioned he is an Irian Jaya. I'll probably give the jungle mix a shot. I feel so bad he can't burrow. He is taking liquid Enrofloxacin as an antibiotic I give him orally.

I really appreciate all the suggestion and I will be putting them to use the best I can. When I got home tonight he had eaten a bit and pooped and seemed happy to see me so I am feeling a little better seeing he is settling in a bit.

Another question, has anyone fed reptiworms? Opinions?

Reptiworms are another name for BSF lavae or if in the USA sold as Pheonix Worms , they are an excellent feeder insect , slow moving , highly nutritious and naturally rich in calcium - so if you can get them , they are hard to beat as a staple for any skink
See https://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/vi ... 4#p1807834

[Janella]

Hi again. IJ's definitely need higher humidity, so it is a good idea to keep them on a better substrate then just Aspen. So good job for switching.

One of the things alot of people do is pre make their skinks food. I mix all my stuff together and then place them in ice cube trays for about 2 hours. Once frozen, I pop them out and put in freezer bags. Then when I feed they get one cube size per skink. This helps keep the food longer. Depending on the variety of food you use, some dog food will last up to 5 days in the fridge, but other last only 2-3 days. Hence, why I use the ice cube trays method.

You said he it was on baytil (enrofloxin). Strong drug and hopefully it will make your skink feel better soon. I am glad to hear it already was eating and pooping. Good news. Hang in there, and keep us posted.

Again, if you need anything just let us know.

[splashy07]

I have quite a few lizards so a can of dog food doesn't have time to go bad here. I have kept it refrigerated at times when they weren't eating as much up to a week in small containers. The less air in the container the less chance of spoilage. You can always freeze portions too, with no ill affects. Leftovers go to my bug colonies.